Daffodils with Prima Watersoluble Oil Pastels

Hello and thanks for stopping by.  

I continued to play with stamping with my Prima oil pastels, like in my card from yesterday.  I had some stamps I just purchased from I Brake for Stamps (they are on sale) and since they are springy, I wanted to use them right away.

The process is the same, I just colored right on the stamp, spritzed with water, and then stamped onto my paper. I used a brush to pick up a bit more color to fill in the flower.

I used watercolor paper again, but you will see a sample below I stamped onto plain ivory cardstock.    I also applied a little pastel to the edge of my papers and then blended it with a baby wipe.

For the sentiment, I practiced A LOT because I typically mess up sentiments and then mess up my whole project.  But what I decided is instead of spritzing the water on the stamp, I just dabbed a little water onto it with a waterbrush and that was MUCH more controlled.  

I would make a suggestion that you have a few pieces of cardstock ready and stamp your image out twice without reinking the stamp.  That way if it is a bit too watery or dark, you will have a couple impressions to choose from.  They really do just turn out differently each time.

Supplies:

I Brake for Stamps - March Daffodil

I Brake for Stamps - Happy Easter Eggs (I cut the eggs and the sentiment apart)

Prima Watersoluble Oil Pastels - Yellow, Yellow-Orange, Orange, Yellow-Green, Dark brown and Black

My Mind's Eye Bramble Rose paper pad

Power Poppy "Sunny Harvest" with Prima Watersoluble Oil Pastels

Power Poppy's Power and Spark Challenge for February was to use a coloring medium that you don't use often.  I got a set of Prima watersoluble oil pastels for Christmas, but I haven't been using them much.  So that is what I am using to stamp with today.

The process is not difficult, you just color the crayon onto the stamp and then mist with one or two sprays from your spray bottle and stamp it.  You could also use a brush to apply the water.  In the areas where I wanted a touch more color, I just pulled a little off the residue on my stamp and brushed it on.

 I found that with clear stamps, it was nice to set the index sheet upside down next to where I was coloring so I could easily see where the leaves were versus the flowers, etc.  

For paper, I used watercolor, but regular cardstock works fine since you aren't usually using tons of water with this method.

I really feel artsy when I use these crayons to stamp with because you get such a soft and pretty result!

Supplies:

Power Poppy Sunny Harvest stamp set

Prima Watersoluble Oil pastel crayons (Olive, yellow-green, vermillion, yellow-orange and dark brown)

Gina K Designs Dark Chocolate Ink

My Mind's Eye The Sweetest Thing - Tangerine Paper pad

Embellishments from my stash

I would like to submit this project to the following challenge:

Power Poppy: Switch Up Your Shades

Snow Much Fun!

Hello!

I love doing the Rudolph Days challenge hosted by ScrappyMo at the end of each month.  Today I finally am doing this card design I have been thinking of for a while.   I wanted to channel my inner Andy Warhol with this  small snowman postage stamp from I Brake for Stamps.

I stamped it 4 times and then colored in with my water-based markers.  I feel like it turned out fun, especially with the sentiment, which reads,

"Hope Your Christmas... Is Snow Much Fun!"

**A note on the embossing folder from Martha Stewart crafts.  It looks like any other folder, but they call them Embossing Plates and it must be thicker than most embossing folders.  When I tried using the regular sandwich in my Cuttlebug, it was definitely NOT going to go through.  So I changed the sandwich to A plate, embossing plate with cardstock in it, 2 sheets of chipboard and my C plate.  Maybe use that as a starting point if you ever try this brand.  

Supplies:

I Brake for Stamps Small Snowman Post

Inky Antics Decorating Snowman (sentiment)

Versafine Ink

Tombow Water Based Markers

Martha Stewart's crafts Embossing Plate - Snowflakes

Embellishment American Crafts

I would like to enter this into the following challenges:

February Rudolph Days

SimonSaysStamp Wednesday - Anything Goes
Daily Marker 30 Day Coloring Challenge

To One of My Favorite Peeps....

Thanks for stopping by my blog.

It is time to get the Easter cards made and this one was fun!  The stamp is one of the dollar clear stamps from somewhere or another, and it came all in one piece, but it seems better to use it with the sentiments cut up.  So the full sentiment is, "Happy Easter ....to one of my favorite peeps!"  The rest is stamped inside the card.

I colored with image with Distress ink pads and a Dove blender pen.  This coloring method is so effortless and quick!

Thanks for looking!

Supplies:

Stamp unknown

Versafine Onyx Black ink

Distress inks: Peacock Feathers, Scattered Straw, Worn Lipstick, Mowed Lawn

Dove Blender pen

Stickles

Gina K Designs Delicate Essentials patterned paper

I would like to enter this into the following challenges:

Our Daily Bread Sketch Challenge ODBDSLC270

ModSquad Challenge Animal Fun
SimonSaysStamp Challenge - Anything Goes!

Distress Clean and Simple

I was very honored that this card was chosen for an honorable mention in the CASology challenge 186.  Thank you so much!

The challenge I am doing today is to use the theme, "Distress," with a clean and simple card.  The first thing that popped into my mind for this was this type of card with a masked off distress ink background.

I sponged Seedless Preserves, Peacock Feathers and just a touch of Chipped Sapphire (at the bottom) to get this pretty background.  I did do a practice sheet before to make sure the colors would blend, and I was really surprised what a pretty color resulted!   I flicked water on it to get the spots that look like rain to me.

The sentiment set I was using did have a nice verse for the inside, and I repeated the small butterfly inside too.

Supplies:

Stampendous Agapanthus Cluster stamp

Gina K Designs Assorted Greetings stamp set

Gina K Designs Whimsical Spring stamp set (small butterfly)

Versafine Onyx Black

Distress Inks: Peacock Feathers, Seedless Preserves, Chipped Sapphire

I would like to submit this to the following challenges:

Casology 186: Distress

SimonSaysStamp Wednesday Challenge: Anything Goes

Spring Butterfly on Bisque Pottery Background

Hello!  I hope you are doing well today.  It is a bit rainy and glum here today, so I spent some time combining challenges.  

The first challenge was to make your own background.  I did this by using the Bisque Pottery technique.  Basically, you ink up one side of your embossing folder with a  light colored pigment ink and run it through your die cutting machine very slowly to transfer the ink.  In the past, I decided that a lesser quality white paper actually works a little better to transfer the ink, but your mileage may vary.

The second challenge was to make a spring card using no black at all.  I immediately reached for my Gina K Warm Spring Wishes stamp set to get appropriate stamps and then I used white embossing and grey ink.  

The third challenge is to make a card to a song.  This one is for Butterfly Wishes.  This song brings out funny memories, because someone in college played it too much, so it gets stuck in your head years later.

It was so much fun to figure out how to combine challenges!

Supplies:

Gina K Designs Warm Spring Wishes stamp set

Gina K Designs Delicate Essentials patterned paper

Versafine Smokey Grey ink

Versamark Ink

Recollections White Detail Embossing Powder

Elizabeth Craft Embossing Folder

Vellum

Avery Elle Silver Fox Pigment ink

Gina K Designs Ocean Mist cardstock

I would like to enter this project into the following challenges:

Tuesday Throwdown - Make Your Own Background

StampTV - MIUM Spring is in the Air!

SimonSaysStamp Monday - Inspired By a Song

Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by!

Floral Card with Masked Woodgrain Background

ETA: 2/29/16
I was so pleased to see that A Blog Named Hero showcased my card today, along with several other lovely cards!  I really enjoyed making this card and it was so nice to be recognized.   Thanks so much! :)

Thanks for stopping by.

I made the background for this card by first stamping the leaves, masking them with copy paper and removable adhesive, then stamping over the entire panel with the woodgrain background stamp.  I like the way it turned out!  The flower was fussy cut and I used Distress Inks to sponge over each piece.  Gold gel pen and glossy accents were used to highlight portions as well as heat embossing gold over the sentiment stamp.

Supplies:

Hero Arts CL518

Hero Arts Woodgrain Background

Hero Arts CL342

Colorbox Fluid Chalk Ink Chestnut Roan

Distress Ink - Scattered Straw, Spiced Marmalade, Wild Honey, Worn Lipstick, Mowed Lawn, Peeled Paint

Versamark Ink

Recollections Gold Detail Embossing Powder

Uniball Signo Gold gel pen

Glossy Accents

I would like to enter this card into the following challenge:

Hero Arts Fabulous Flowers
A Blog Named Hero: A Bit of Sparkle

Merry Monday - Berries prompt

Hello and thanks for stopping by.  Today I am playing with a new (to me) challenge blog - Merry Monday.  The prompt was Berries.  

This gave me a chance to use this PSX stamp that was given to me in a RAK.  It is so pretty.  In fact, I like it so much I have had it sitting out in my craft space for some time!

I decided to use my Prima Watersoluble Oil Pastels to color right on the stamp, then I sprayed water on it and stamped. It turned out a little different each time and I like the results so much I made two cards!

Supplies:

PSX Mistletoe stamp K-1596 (1995)

Prima Watersoluble Oil Pastels

Crate Paper Peppermint 6x6 Paper pad

Strathmore watercolor paper 5x7 cards

I am entering this project into the following challenge:

Merry Monday Christmas Challenge - Berries

Follow Your Dreams

Hello and thanks for visiting today!

I made this card with a stamp set I have used before, but I had not used the little dragonflies or the sentiment before.  It is fun to get out a timeless stamp set and play with it.

Supplies:

Gina K Designs Follow Your Dreams stamp set (illustrated by Theresa Momber)

Versamark Ink

Recollections Clear embossing powder

Distress inks in Faded Jeans, Peacock Feather and Tumbled Glass

Spellbinders Labels Three

I really enjoy reading your comments!   Have a great day!

Welcome Baby card

Today I would to share this baby card I made with an alphabet stamp set and some fun buttons. 

Supplies:

Art Impressions Letter Perfect Alphabet stamp set

Colorbox Fluid Chalk inks

Gina K Basket Additions stamp set (welcome phrase stamp)

Martha Stewart Baby Girl patterned paper

Cuttlebug Swiss dots embossing folder

Buttons and twine from my stash

Butterfly felt shape from Little Yellow Bicycle

Thank you so much for stopping by!

Watercolor "Stencil Stamping" Technique Tutorial

Welcome! I would like to share a background technique I call Watercolor "Stencil Stamping."  It is a good way to get more mileage out of your stencils.  It is easy to do and because it is watercolor, you get a little bit different result each time.

Here is my completed card and a close up of the focal point.

(Click on photos to enlarge.)

Materials Needed:

You will need a dye ink, stencil, water spritzer and paper towels.  Distress inks work really well with this technique!  It is important to have everything out ahead of time.  I am showing watercolor paper here, but you can use regular cardstock if you want.  If you want a pearlized look, you can add a little perfect pearls into your water.

Directions:

Press your inkpad directly on the stencil to get a fairly even coverage. You can use more than one color if you wish.

Spritz the stencil with water as evenly as you can. You will want to experiment a little with how much works for you.  Have your piece of cardstock ready in a clean, dry area nearby.

This is where you want to be ready to work quickly.  You will now pick up the stencil, turn it over onto your cardstock (remember, this cardstock is already set out in a dry spot). Take a clean paper towel and immediately place over the entire work and press the watery ink in evenly.  Some of the extra ink will soak into the paper towel.

After a moment or two, pick up your paper towel and stencil to reveal the pattern. Let dry completely.  

Like I said earlier, you may need to practice just a little bit to see how much water to use and how to move the wet, inky stencil over to your cardstock.   You may prefer a really watery look.  There is no correct look, it depends on what you like. If you get a very, very blotchy result that does not look even, you probably needed to add a touch more water to the stencil.  Don't worry, you will get the hang of it!  And if the entire thing doesn't look how you want, cut half off and use it anyhow as patterned paper.

Here is a photo of some that I did on regular white cardstock.  It really looks good on either type of paper, but watercolor paper is just a bit more forgiving.  

I hope that you found this tutorial helpful and might want to try this technique out!  

Cleaning tips and variations:

When using a dark ink color, you could stain your stencil.  I had this happen with a deep pink and was easily able to remove the ink from the stencil with alcohol from the medicine cabinet.  

Yes, you could also do the same technique with some spray stains and skip the inkpad altogether!  Try whatever you have on hand.  

Supplies I used in this project: 

Colorbox Art Screens stencil - Lovely

Gina K Designs Ink - Applemint and Innocent pink

Gina K Designs Better With You stamp set

Versamark Ink and White detail powder

GKD AppleMint cardstock

Watercolor cardstock

Vellum paper

Spellbinders scalloped Labels One

GKD Patterned paper

Perfect pearls in water brushed over the flower

Thanks for stopping by and I appreciate your comments!

Kid Valentines using Jillibean Soup Shape Shaker products - A Review

Thank you for stopping by!  Today I would like to share the cards I made for my son's school Valentines.   These one-layer cards came together quickly with the Jillibean Soup Shape Shaker products.  These stamp sets, precut cards and shaker pockets, available in several shapes, are available at Michaels and I am sure they are also available in online stores.

The stamp set is clear acrylic (not photopolymer) but I had no problem stamping with it using my pigment inks, Versafine or chalk inks. The one I chose has multiple candies you can stamp inside (I picked the hearts) and a couple cute sayings in addition to the gumball machine. 

The card is ivory with a neat looking speckle to it.  There are dies available for the shaker pockets, but I chose to buy the cards with the precut opening.  The shaker is easy to use, you turn it upside down, fill with whatever you like, and it has it's own adhesive on it so you just stick it in place.

 The set did not have a Valentine greeting so I used one on the inside from Hero Arts.

I used both the sequins available from Jillibean soup and some heart sequins I found at the grocery store.  The shaker pockets are deep and would be difficult to mail.  However, it would have been fun to put some real Valentine candy in the shaker and it would fit nicely.  I did not do this due to school rules.  

I really enjoyed using these products!  It made cardmaking very fast!  I also really appreciate how easy these would be for a beginner cardmaker.  I thought the price point was affordable at $3.99 for each stamp set, sequin mix, and each set of 6 shaker pockets and card/envelopes.  And since I got them at Michaels, I could use a coupon.

For the dies, if you already had a set of circle dies, they would probably work just fine to cut your opening.

I would definitely buy more of these products in the future. I think that this set was fun to use for Valentines and I will use it for birthday cards in the future too.  (Note: I am not affiliated in any way with Jillibean Soup and I receive no compensation for this review. I just thought it might be helpful to anyone searching for this product.)

Supplies:
Jillibean Soup Sweet Treat stamp set
Versafine Onyx black ink
Avery Elle Pigment Ink Strawberry
Hero Arts Everyday Sayings stamp stamp set
Jillibean Soup Shape Shakers (Small Circle Shaker, Red/pink sequin mix, small circle card and envelope set)

I would like to enter this project in the following challenges:
SimonSaysStamp Wednesday Challenge - One Layer
ModSquad Challenge - From the Heart

"Top Three Winner" in ModSquad Hearts and Flowers Challenge

I found out this morning that My Love Will Never Stop Growing card was chosen as a "Top Three Winner" card in the ModSquad Challenge Blog - Hearts and Flowers Challenge.  Thank you so much for this honor!  

Another Couple of Valentines...

Thanks for stopping by.   I am sharing yet another couple Valentines today as I am addressing them today and starting to send them out! 

 I love that I can use so many flower stamps this time of year.  Flower stamps are my weakness.  You can never have enough!  I colored this in with Derwent Metallic Watersoluble pencils, but I did not blend with any water.  

Supplies:

Gina K Designs Stately Flowers 1

Gina K Designs Stately Flowers 5 (sentiment)

Archival Jet Black Ink

American Crafts Ribbon and Twine

My Mind's Eye Bramble Rose 6x6 paper pad

Heart rhinestones from my stash

My Love Will Never Stop Growing

Update (2/10/2016):

This card was chosen as a "Top 3 Winner" at the ModSquad Challenge blog!  Thank you!

I really enjoyed making this card with fairly simple stamping and stenciling!  

I sponged ink over my stencil, but I wanted to leave the lower left blank for my sentiment so I slowly built up color, leaving it lighter toward the card center.  I stamped the flourish directly on the card front, but then popped up the flowers and the butterfly's wings.  

This ink color, called Lipstick, by Gina K, is a little bit of a color chameleon.  It is a really bright coral, but it does change depending on what colors are around it and in different lights, as you can see in the photos below.  

I used some white and pink stickles on the butterfly wings.

I really like this particular stencil, because it is a heart

stencil, but it really does pass for leaves when you use green!

Supplies:

Gina K Made With Love & Better With You stamps sets

Colorbox Art Screens Lovely

Distress ink Mowed Lawn

Versafine Onyx Black ink

Gina K Lipstick Ink

Stickles 

Gina K Cardstock in white and JellyBean Green

I would like to enter this into the following challenge:

ModSquad Challenge Blog - Hearts and Flowers

I appreciate your comments!  Thanks for stopping by!

Everything's Better With You Card

Thank you so much for stopping by today!  Today I have a fun and versatile card to share with you.  It would be a fun all-occasion card to share with anyone you care about, but I will probably give it to my son for Valentine's Day.  

The stamping was easy.  I first created the sunny watercolor pool with pan watercolors and then when that dried, I used an orangey color to splatter around the card.  

Supplies:

Gina K Designs Better With You Stamps set (currently available as part of the Made With Love StampTV kit)

Versafine Onyx Black ink

Koi Pan Watercolors

Watercolor paper

American Crafts Everyday 6x6 paper pad

(Self adhesive embellishments from my stash, I lost the packaging)

Gina K Sweet Mango Cardstock

I would like to enter this project into the following challenge:

SimonSaysStamp Monday Challnege - Ray of Sunshine

Better With You - A Friend Valentine Card

Thank you so much for stopping by today.  I wanted to color this cute stamp and then made it in to a very simple card that I can easily mail out to a friend for Valentine's Day.  Lots of friends don't like Valentine's Day in the traditional sense, so I think that this card will show them I care without using traditional colors.

Here is another view of the cute stamp!

Supplies:

Gina K Designs Better With You stamp set (currently part of the Made With Love StampTV kit)

Gina K Dark Chocolate Ink

Inktense pencils (dry, no water added)

Recollections Kraft Cardstock

Gina K Jelly Bean Green Cardstock

American Crafts Everyday 6x6 paper pad

American Crafts ribbon

This project will be entered into the following challenges:

SimonSaysStamp Wednesday Challenge - Have a Heart

ModSquad Challenge - Hearts n Flowers

The Daily Marker 30 Day Coloring Challenge